More than 50 species of reptiles, including 26 species of snakes and 16 species of turtles, have been found in Everglades National Park. The reptiles include, of course, the alligator, which is the symbol of the Everglades. Less conspicuous than the reptiles are the 18 species of amphibians that live here. Many are nocturnal. These lists represent species found within the park or nearby. Species considered exotic to Everglades National Park are marked with an asterisk (*).

Reptiles

American crocodile Crocodylus acutus

American alligator Alligator mississippiensis

Florida snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina

Striped mud turtle Kinosternum bauri

Stinkpot Sternotherus odoratus

Florida box turtle Terrapene carolina

Diamondback terrapin Malaclemys terrapin

Peninsula cooter Chrysemys floridanis

Florida redbelly turtle Chrysemys nelsoni

Florida chicken turtle Deirochelys reticularia

Gopher tortoise Gopherus polyphemus

Atlantic green turtle Chelonia mydas

Atlantic hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata

Atlantic loggerhead Caretta caretta

Atlantic ridley Lepidochelys kempi

Florida softshell Trionyx ferox

Indopacific gecko Hemidactylus garnoti*

Florida reef gecko Shpaerodactylus notatus

Green anole Anolis carolinensis

Brown anole Anolis sagrai*

Knight anole Anolis equestris*

Common iguana Iguana iguana*

Ground skink Scincella lateralis

Eastern glass lizard Ophisaurus ventralis

Island glass lizard Ophisaurus compressus

Florida green water snake Nerodia cyclopion

Brown water snake Nerodia taxispilota

Florida water snake Nerodia fasciata pictiventris

Mangrove salt marsh snake Nerodia fasciata compressicauda

South Florida swamp snake Seminatrix pygaea

Florida brown snake Stoeria dekayi

Eastern garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis

Peninsula ribbon snake Thamnophis sauritus

Striped crayfish snake Regina alleni

Eastern hognose snake Heterodon platyrhinos

Southern ringneck snake Diadopis punctatus

Eastern mud snake Farancia abacura

Everglades racer Coluber constrictor

Eastern coachwhip Masticophis flagellum

Rough green snake Opheodrys aestivus

Eastern indigo Drymarchon corais

Corn snake Elaphe guttata

Everglades rat snake Elaphe obsoleta

Yellow rat snake Elaphe obsoleta quadrivitatta

Florida kingsnake Lampropeltis getulus

Scarlet kingsnake Lampropeltis triangulum

Florida scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea

Eastern coral snake Micrurus fulvius

Florida cottonmouth Agkistrodon piscivorus

Dusky pygmy rattlesnake Sistrurus miliarius

Eastern diamondback Crotalus adamanteus

Amphibians

Two-toed amphiuma Amphiuma means

Greater siren Siren lacertina

Everglades dwarf siren Pseudobranchus striatus belli

Peninsula newt Notophthalmus viridescens

Eastern spadefoot toad Scaphiophus holbrooki

Greenhouse frog Eleuthrodactylus planirostris*

Southern toad Bufo terrestris

Oak toad Bufo quercicus

Florida cricket frog Acris gryllus

Green treefrog Hyla cinerea

Squirrel treefrog Hyla squirella

Cuban treefrog Osteopilus septentrionalis*

Little grass frog Limneaodus ocularis

Florida chorus frog Pseudacris nigrita

Eastern narrow-mouth toad Gastrophyne carolinesis

Pig frog Rana grylio

Southern leopard frog Rana spenocephala

Jean Craighead George Tropical thicket Glossary ALGAE: (pronounced “AL-jee”) A group of plants (singular: ALGA, pronounced “AL-ga”), one-celled or many-celled, having chlorophyll, without roots, and living in damp places or in water. BRACKISH WATER: Mixed fresh and salt water. Many species of plants and animals of marine and fresh-water habitats are adapted to life in estuaries and coastal swamps and marshes, where the water varies greatly in degree of salinity. Some animal species can be found in all three habitats. BROMELIAD: A plant of the pineapple family. Many bromeliads are air plants, growing (not parasitically) on the trunks and branches of other plants, or even, as in the case of “Spanish moss,” on telephone wires. COMMUNITY: The living part of the ecosystem; an assemblage of plants and animals living in a particular area or physical habitat. It can be as small as a decaying log, with its variety of mosses, insect larvae, burrowing beetles, ants, etc.; or as large as a forest of hundreds of square miles. DECIDUOUS TREES: Trees that shed their leaves annually. Most hardwood trees are deciduous; some conifers, such as larches and baldcypresses, are deciduous. ECOLOGY: The study of the relationship of living things to one another and to their physical environment. ENDANGERED: A species of plant or animal that, throughout all or a significant portion of its range, is in danger of extinction. ENVIRONMENT: All the external conditions, such as soil, water, air, and organisms, surrounding a living thing. ESTIVATION: A prolonged dormant or sleeplike state that enables an animal to survive the summer in a hot climate. As in hibernation, breathing and heartbeat slow down, and the animal neither eats nor drinks. ESTUARY: The portion of a river or coastal wetland affected by the rise and fall of the tide, containing a graded mixture of fresh and salt water. EVERGLADE: A tract of marshy land covered in places with tall grasses. (In this book, “the everglades” refers to the river of grass; “Everglades” refers to the park, which contains other habitats besides everglades.) EXOTIC: A foreign plant or animal that has been introduced, intentionally or unintentionally, into a new area. FOOD CHAIN: A series of plants and animals linked by their food relationships, beginning with a green plant and ending with a predator. HABITAT: The place where an organism lives; the immediate surroundings, living and unliving, of an organism. The habitat of the pine warbler is the pinelands; the habitat of an internal parasite of this bird is the body of the warbler. HAMMOCK: A dense growth of broad-leaved trees on a slightly elevated area, not wet enough to be a swamp. In the park, hammocks are surrounded either by pineland or by marshland (glades). HARDWOOD TREES: Trees with broad leaves (as opposed to conebearing trees, which have needles or scales). Most hardwood trees are deciduous, though many in south Florida retain their leaves throughout the year. KEY: A reef or low-lying island. In south Florida, the term “key” is often also applied to hammocks or pinelands, which occupy areas where the limestone is raised above the surrounding wetlands. LIMESTONE: A sedimentary rock derived from the shells and skeletons of animals deposited in seas, and consisting mostly of calcium carbonate. Soluble in water having a slight degree of acidity, it is often characterized by caverns and, in the everglades, by a very pitted surface. The rock underlying most of the park is the Miami OÖlite (pronounced OH-uh-lite), formed during a recent glacial period. OÖlitic limestone is composed of tiny round concretions, only indirectly derived from marine shells. MANGROVE: Any of a group of tropical or subtropical trees, growing in estuaries and other low-lying coastal areas, usually producing aerial roots or prop roots and often forming dense growths over a large area. In south Florida there are four species, belonging to three different families. MARSH: A wetland, salt or fresh, where few if any trees and shrubs grow, characterized by grasses and sedges; in fresh-water marshes, cattails are common. MARL: In this book, used in the sense of a deposit of mixed limestone and smaller amounts of clay; south Florida marls are sometimes called lime muds. PEAT: Partly decayed, moisture-absorbing plant matter accumulated in bogs, swamps, etc. PREDATOR: An animal that lives by capturing other animals for food. SLOUGH: A channel of slow-moving water in coastal marshland. The Shark River Slough and Taylor Slough are the main channels where the glades water flows in the park. Generally remaining as reservoirs of water when the glades dry in the rainless season, they are important to survival of aquatic animals. SWAMP: Wetland characterized by shrubs or trees such as maples, gums, baldcypresses, and, in south Florida coast areas, mangroves. Fresh-water swamps are usually not covered by water the year around. THREATENED: A species still present in its range but that, without significant changes in conditions, is capable of becoming endangered. TREE ISLAND: An island of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants growing on an elevation, in a depression, or at the same level as the surrounding glades. Includes hammocks, willow heads, cypress heads, and bayheads. For Reading and Reference Ashton, Ray Jr., and Patricia Sawyer Ashton. Handbook of Reptiles and Amphibians of Florida. Vol. 1, The Snakes; Vol. 2, Lizards, Turtles and Crocodilians; Vol. 3, The Amphibians. Miami: Windward Publishing, Inc., 1981-88. Bell, C. Ritchie, and Bryan J. Taylor. Florida Wildflowers and Roadside Plants. Chapel Hill: Laurel Hill Press, 1982. Cox, W. Eugene. In Pictures—Everglades: The Continuing Story. Las Vegas: K. C. Publications, 1989. Craighead, Frank C. The Role of the Alligator in Shaping Plant Communities and Maintaining Wildlife in the Southern Everglades. Maitland: Florida Audubon Society, 1969. de Golia, Jack. Everglades: The Story Behind the Scenery. Las Vegas: K.C. Publications, 1981. Douglas, Marjory Stoneman. Everglades: River of Grass. St. Simons Island, Georgia: Mockingbird Books, 1974. Downs, Dorothy. Miccosukee Arts and Crafts. Miami: Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, 1982. Hoffmeister, John Edward. Land From Sea: The Geologic Story of South Florida. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1968. Lane, James A. A Birder’s Guide to Florida. Denver: L&P Press, 1989. Peterson, Roger Tory. A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980. Robertson, William B. Everglades: The Park Story. Homestead, Florida: Florida National Parks and Monuments Association, Inc., 1989. Romashko, Sandra. The Shell Book. Miami: Windward Publishing, Inc., 1984. Stevenson, George B. Trees of the Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys. Miami: Banyan Books, Inc., 1984. Tebeau, Charlton E. Man in the Everglades. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1968. Toops, Connie M. The Alligator: Monarch of the Marsh. Homestead, Florida: Florida National Parks and Monuments Association, Inc., 1988. Toops, Connie. Everglades. Stillwater, Minnesota: Voyageur Press, 1989. Truesdell, William G. A Guide to the Wilderness Waterway of the Everglades National Park. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1985. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Rare and Endangered Fish and Wildlife of the United States. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1964. Williams, Winston. Florida’s Fabulous Waterbirds: Their Stories. Tampa: Worldwide Printing, 1984. Zim, Herbert S. Everglades National Park and the Nearby Florida Keys. New York: Golden Press, 1985. Rare and Endangered Animals Here is a partial list of the rare and endangered species and subspecies found in Everglades National Park and Fort Jefferson National Monument. Mammals Florida Panther (Cougar) West Indian Manatee (Sea Cow) Birds Snail Kite Southern Bald Eagle Arctic Peregrine Falcon Cape Sable Sparrow Wood Stork Red-cockaded Woodpecker Reptiles and Amphibians Green Turtle Eastern Indigo Snake Hawksbill Turtle Loggerhead Turtle American Crocodile Checklist of Mammals More than 40 species of mammals are found in Everglades National Park. Many of them are species commonly associated with drier habitats that have adapted to the semi-aquatic environment that comprises most of the park. It is not uncommon to see whitetail deer wading through the sawgrass prairie or a bobcat foraging for food in a mangrove swamp. This list is made up of species found within the boundary of the park or in the immediate area. Species considered exotic to Everglades National Park are marked with an asterisk (*). Opossum Didelphis marsupialis Short-tailed shrew Blarina brevicauda Least shrew Cryptotis parva Eastern mole Scalopus aquaticus Seminole bat Lasiurus seminolus Florida yellow bat Lasiurus intermedius Evening bat Nycticeius hymeralis Brazilian free-tailed bat Tadarida brasiliensis Florida mastiff bat Eumops glaucinus Nine-banded armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus* Marsh rabbit Sylvilagus palustris Eastern cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus Gray squirrel Sciurus carolinensis Fox squirrel Sciurus niger Southern flying squirrel Glaucomys volans Rice rat Oryzomys palustris Cotton mouse Peromyscus gossypinus Cotton rat Sigmodon hispisus Roundtail muskrat Neofiber alleni Roof rat Rattus rattus* Norway rat Rattus norvegicus House mouse Mus musculus* Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin Tursiops truncatus Short-finned, or Pilot, whale Globicephala marcorhyncha Gray fox Urocyon cineroargenteus Red fox Vulpes vulpes* Domestic dog Canis familiaris* Black bear Ursus americanus Raccoon Procyon lotor Coati Nasua narica* Everglades mink Mustela vison Long-tailed weasel Mustela frenata Eastern spotted skunk Spirogale putorius Striped skunk Mephitis mephitis River otter Lutra canadensis Florida panther Felis concolor coryi Bobcat Lynx rufus Domestic cat Felis domesticus* West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus Domestic pig Sus scrofa* Whitetail deer Odocoileus virginia Checklist of Birds This is a complete list of the birds known in the park—347 species as of June 1, 1985—along with a key indicating the abundance and seasonal occurrence of each species. As noted in this list many birds are known in the park from only a few sightings. A few are exotic birds that have escaped captivity. Species considered exotic to Everglades Park are marked with an asterisk (*). Users can contribute to updating future lists by carefully recording details of their observations of less common species and reporting that information to park personnel. For purposes of this listing the seasons are as follows: Spring: March 1 to May 31 Summer: June 1 to July 31 Fall: August 1 to November 15 Winter: November 16 to February 28 Key to Checklist C Common U Uncommon R Rare F Fewer than 10 sightings B Breeds in park ? Uncertain if species breeds in park lass="c">C	R
Blue Jay	B	C	C	C	C
American Crow	B	C	C	C	C
Fish Crow					F
Tufted Titmouse		R			R
White-breasted Nuthatch					F
Brown-headed Nuthatch	Extirpated
Brown Creeper					F
Carolina Wren	B	C	C	C	C
House Wren		C		C	C
Winter Wren					F
Sedge Wren		U		U	U
Marsh Wren		U		U	U
Ruby-crowned Kinglet		U		U	U
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher		C		C	C
Eastern Bluebird	Extirpated
Veery		U		U
Gray-cheeked Thrush		U		U
Swainson’s Thrush		U		U	F
Hermit Thrush		U		U	R
Wood Thrush		R		R	F
American Robin					R-C
Gray Catbird		C		C	C
Northern Mockingbird	B	C	C	C	C
Brown Thrasher		U		U	U
Water Pipit				R	R
Cedar Waxwing		R-C		R-C	R-C
Loggerhead Shrike	B	U	U	U	U
European Starling*	B	U	U	U	U
Hill Myna (probably escapes)		F
Thick-billed Vireo					F
White-eyed Vireo	B	C	C	C	C
Bell’s Vireo				F	F
Solitary Vireo		U		U	U
Yellow-throated Vireo		U		U	U
Warbling Vireo		F		F
Philadelphia Vireo		R		R
Red-eyed Vireo		C		C	F
Black-whispered Vireo	B	C	C	C
Blue-winged Warbler		R		R	F
Golden-winged Warbler		R		R
Tennessee Warbler		U		U	R
Orange-crowned Warbler		U		U	U
Nashville Warbler		F		R	F
Northern Parula		C	R	C	C
Yellow Warbler	B	C	C	C	U
Chestnut-sided Warbler		R		R
Magnolia Warbler		U		U	R
Cape May Warbler		U-C		U-C	R
Black-throated Blue Warbler		C		C	U-R
Yellow-rumped Warbler		R-C		R-C	C
Black-throated Gray Warbler					F
Black-throated Green Warbler		U		U	U
Blackburnian Warbler		U		U	F
Yellow-throated Warbler		C	U	C	C
Pine Warbler	B	C	C	C	C
Kirtland’s Warbler					F
Prairie Warbler	B	C	C	C	C
Palm Warbler		C		C	C
Bay-breasted Warbler				F	F
Blackpoll Warbler		C		R
Cerulean Warbler				R
Black-and-white Warbler		C		C	C
American Redstart		C	U	C	U
Prothonotary Warbler		U		U	F

PINE FAMILY: PINACEAE

South Florida Slash Pine Pinus elliottii var. densa

BALD CYPRESS FAMILY: TAXODIACEAE

Pond cypress Taxodium ascendens

Bald cypress Taxodium distichum

PALM FAMILY: ARECACEAE

Paurotis palm Acoelorraphe wrightii

Silver palm Coccothrinax argentata

Coconut Cocos nucifera Sl

Royal palm Roystonea elata

Cabbage palm Sabal palmetto

Saw palmetto Serenoa repens

Thatch palm Thrinax radiata

CENTURY PLANT FAMILY: AGAVACEAE

False sisal Agave decipiens

Sisal Agave sisalana We

Spanish dagger Yucca aloifolia